Corridor 10 of 12

Barton Greenway

The village works and the central section of the A603 path are done, and done well. The two ends of the path are not, and the Baulk Path, carved out for a separate decision in July 2025, still hasn't had one.

Still arguing

Map from the 2016 review showing the proposed Barton Greenway and its links — The corridor as drawn in 2016. Reproduced from the review commissioned by Cambridgeshire County Council; base mapping © OpenStreetMap contributors. See the full document →

What became of the 11 proposals for this corridor

Built and open · 1 In design or planning · 2 Scaled back · 1 Not in current programme · 7

What the 2016 review asked for

Upgrade the A603 path, A603/M11 roundabout to the city-edge lay-by
Upgrade the A603 path, lay-by to Lammas Land
Upgrade the A603 path, Barton village to the M11 roundabout
Upgrade the Barton–Grantchester bridleway, 1.5 km
Granta Place to Fen Causeway upgrade including two new bridges
Improve the Grantchester route including a possible point road closure
New path Comberton to Barton, 1.9 km
Extend to the Mullard Observatory, 1.6 km, and on to Little Eversden and Comberton Village College, 4 km

What happened

2018–2023Successive consultations and engagement reports.
May 2024Detailed designs published.
11 July 2025Executive Board approves the full business case for the 8 km route, with a review of the Baulk Path section — a 2.2km countryside bridleway spur — to return separately after members questioned whether it represented value for money.
11 August 2025Barton Road (A603) works begin — 21 weeks, with night closures.
August–November 2025Village works on Kings Grove, New Road, High Street, School Lane and Comberton Road; village-wide 20mph introduced.
End 2025The new 3m Barton Road path is complete between the A603/M11 roundabout and the lay-by at the city edge, slightly ahead of schedule.
March–April 2026Final elements: a parallel crossing at Burwash Manor, street lighting, white lining, play logs by the village shop.
September 2026The Baulk Path review has produced no published decision. It has not featured in a monthly Greenways update since it was deferred.

Where it stands, November 2026

Partly open, and the open part is good. Barton has a village-wide 20mph limit, new crossings, better lighting, drainage and landscaping, and a new 3m path along the A603 between the M11 roundabout and the edge of the city: that section, the one the GCP scheme covered, is complete. The rest of the A603 corridor is not: most of the built-up length from the city edge to Lammas Land is unchanged, the stretch between the M11 junction and Barton village has not been upgraded, and the M11 junction itself is untouched. Local cyclists point out that with those gaps the route fails LTN 1/20's core principles of safe, comfortable and attractive — the 2016 review warned that 'for any investment to be worthwhile it needs to deliver a high quality route along the whole corridor'. The Grantchester bridleway upgrade has moved to the Haslingfield scheme and the Comberton link to the Comberton scheme. The westward extensions — to the Mullard Observatory, Little Eversden and Comberton Village College, the villages the review described as having 'no route at all' — are not in any programme. And the Baulk Path, a 2.2km countryside bridleway spur linking towards Grantchester, was carved out of the July 2025 approval for separate review after board members disputed its value for money. Fourteen months later, as of September 2026, no decision has been published and it has not appeared in a single monthly Greenways update since.

2026/27 budget £1,956kFBC approved 11 July 2025Route length 8 km

Sources for this page

Audit

Every proposal on this route

Proposed intervention (2016)	Type	Scale	Status 2026	What happened
Upgrade the A603 path: A603/M11 roundabout to the Barton Road lay-by at the city edge	Upgrade	part of 3.5 km	Built and open	Done well. A new 3m path between the A603/M11 roundabout and the Barton Road lay-by, finished at the end of 2025, with Barton's village works alongside. This is the section the GCP scheme covered. The 2016 review asked for the whole 3.5km corridor and was clear that 'for any investment to be worthwhile it needs to deliver a high quality route along the whole corridor'.
Upgrade the A603 path: Barton Road lay-by to Lammas Land (city end)	Upgrade	part of 3.5 km	Not in current programme	Not in the scheme. Most of the built-up length from the lay-by to Lammas Land is unchanged, including the tight Lammas Land end and side-road crossings the review identified.
Upgrade the A603 path: Barton village to the A603/M11 roundabout	Upgrade	part of 3.5 km	Not in current programme	Not in the scheme. The stretch between the village and the M11 junction has not been upgraded. Local cyclists point out that with the gaps at both ends the route fails three of LTN 1/20's core design principles: safe, comfortable and attractive.
Upgrade the bridleway surface between Barton and Grantchester	Upgrade	1.5 km	In design or planning	Transferred to the Haslingfield Greenway.
Upgrade the Granta Place to Fen Causeway route, including two new bridges	New structure	2 bridges	Not in current programme	Not in the current programme.
Improve the Grantchester to Cambridge route, including a possible point road closure	Upgrade	—	Not in current programme	The point closure — recommended for an early trial — was not pursued.
New upgraded path between Comberton and Barton along the road corridor	New route	1.9 km	In design or planning	Absorbed into the Comberton Greenway, whose planning application covers Comberton to central Cambridge.
Extend the A603 path from Barton to the Mullard Observatory	New route	1.6 km	Not in current programme	Not in the programme.
New path from the Mullard Observatory to Little Eversden and Comberton Village College	New route	4 km	Not in current programme	The review's answer for villages 'with no route at all'; not taken up.
A603 crossings and junction re-alignments, including a possible new roundabout at New Road	Upgrade	—	Scaled back	Delivered in modified form: village-wide 20mph, new crossings, raised tables and lighting instead of a roundabout.
Changes to two roundabouts and the road layout near the M11 crossing of the A603	Upgrade	—	Not in current programme	Tied to the Western Orbital, which did not proceed. Without changes here the M11 junction remains the weakest point of the Barton route.